We’re Going Hardcore Delaware at tDoB in August!

Ok, so as I alluded to in a previous post my former editor, in one of our Captain Morgan infused conversations was urging me to do a theme month all throughout August. The conversation went something like this

G: Ed, I have a great idea for the blog.

E: Not interested. Go away.

G: Awwww, why do you have to be like that?

E: Because the last time you said you had a great idea for the blog it was that we should get someone else to write it.

G: Oh come on, you know I was only kidding.

E: You sent Patrick Huff an email saying if he was done playing with his apples and wanted to get back to writing a beer blog, that he should “hit you up.”

G: …you know how they call the hottest part of the summer the “Dog Days of Summer”? Well! We’re the Dogs of Beer! And the biggest brewery in the state is Dogfish Head. So I think….wait for it….August at the Dogs of Beer should be the Dog(fish Head) Days of Summer and you should review nothing but Dogfish Head beers. Like a poop load of them.

E: Ah, add to the already endless reviews on Dogfish Head beers out there? Very original. Although I do think the name is catchy. Wait. How many are a poop load?

G: I don’t know. 20? 25? Nothing your liver can’t handle. Annnnnnd to really change things up I think you should do something you’ve never done at tDoB before.

E: What’s that?

G: You should rate them.

E: Ug, come on. We’ve had this conversation a hundred times before. Everyone is different. It doesn’t matter if I think 60-Minute IPA is the best beer in the universe. Some people aren’t going to agree. And it’s not wrong or right. It’s about taste.

G: Look, you don’t even have to put much thought into it. Just say you’re going to rate them against other beers from DFH. You know, kinda like building a list of your faves and least faves.

E: Not horrible I guess. What scale should I use?

G: I don’t care. Use the Bea Arthur scale for all I care.

E: The Bea Art…? Ok, I don’t even want to know what that is.

G: It’s how many beers it would take for you to[CENSORED]with a [CENSORED]in[CENSORED]

And it continued on into the night until the Captain Morgan bottle was emptied in an effort to forever erase the visual of the “Bea Arthur Scale” from my memory. I’ve decided that indeed, August will be the Dog(fish Head) Days at tDoB. I don’t know if I’ll get to 20 beers or not. But I’m going to give it a good go. We will NOT be using the Bea Arthur scale. Instead this will be my rating system:

Free Taster – Only try this beer if you can get a free taste at a bar. You might love it…but then again….

Glass/bottle – Definitely worth a more thorough investigation, or an occasional try.

4/6-Pack or Growler – Your fridge needs this beer so that you can experience it throughout the weekend, or just in one drunken evening.

Case – There should always be a supply of this in your beer stash for when the mood strikes or company comes over. Oh, who are we kidding, this is too good for company.

Keg – This thing should be in your kegerator. Hell, you should buy a kegerator just so you have a place to put this beer. Do it! Rent? Your daughter’s braces? Acceptable sacrifices.

My rating of a beer will be solely based on my opinion of how the beer rates against other beers produced by DFH with maybe a little style evaluation sprinkled on. Some reviews may have intros like I normally write, some I may just jump right into it. Depends on how much work this ends up being.

As an extra bonus (kinda like the prize in the Cracker Jack box), Oliver over at Literature and Libation will be writing a guest post piece of fiction inspired by a DFH beer later in the month. It’s always great to have some Oliver Gray writing here at tDoB.

So that’s it for August. However there’s more! An event like this needs a good kick off, and to that end, on July 31st I’ll be dropping my post for Bryan’s (This Is Why I’m Drunk) Six-Pack project. My job will be to pick six Delaware beers that represent us and our brewing culture. Shelf product only, no keg-only beers.

Besides myself, 4 others will be representing their respective states and one blogger will be trying to build the all Begian six-pack. This was a lot of fun to do.

So that’s it. I’m poop deep in DFH beers this August. And it all starts with the Six-Pack Project on July 31st. Wish me luck!